March 27, 2008 – American West Heating Faster Than Rest of World, New Analysis Shows

Groups Say Western Senators Have Opportunity to Protect Region from Growing Economic Toll

PORTLAND, Ore. –March 27, 2008–The American West is heating up more rapidly than the rest of the world, according to a new analysis of the most recent federal government temperature figures. The news is especially bad for some of the nation’s fastest growing cities, which receive water from the drought-stricken Colorado River. The average temperature rise in the Southwest’s largest river basin was more than double the average global increase, likely spelling even more parched conditions.

“We need to get a grip on global warming,” said Chris Hagerbaumer, Director of Programs at the Oregon Environmental Council. “The causes of global warming are numerous, but we can begin to solve the problem now, in the right way, with the right tools, so that we can avert the most serious ecological and economic impacts.”

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization (RMCO) analyzed new temperature data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for 11 western states. For the five-year period 2003-2007, the average temperature in the Colorado River Basin, which stretches from Wyoming to Mexico, was 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the historical average for the 20th century. The temperature rise was 220 percent more than the global average of 1.0 degree during the same period. The average temperature increased 1.7 degrees in the entire 11-state western region.

“We are seeing signs of the economic impacts throughout the West,” said study author Stephen Saunders of the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization. “Since 2000 we have seen $2.7 billion in crop loss claims due to drought. Global warming is harming valuable commercial salmon fisheries, reducing hunting activity and revenues, and threatening shorter and less profitable seasons for ski resorts.”

The Colorado River Basin is in the throes of a record drought, shrinking water supplies for upwards of 30 million people in fast-growing Denver, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Diego. Most of the Colorado River’s flow comes from melting snow in the mountains of Wyoming, Utah and Wyoming. Climate scientists predict even more and drier droughts in the future as hotter temperatures reduce the snowpack and increase evaporation.

To date, the governors of Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, as well as the governments of British Columbia and Manitoba, have signed the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), an agreement to reduce global warming pollution through market-based solutions, such as a cap-and-trade program. The WCI participants would require a suite of economy-wide policies to ensure meeting the WCI’s targets of reducing carbon emissions 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. Additionally, the WCI states would agree to the firm target of reducing emissions of global warming pollution at least 80 percent below current levels by mid-century.

“I am proud that Oregon is leading in combating global warming,” said Norm Ritchie, Executive Director of the Association of Northwest Steelheaders. “We urge Governor Kulongoski to ensure the Western Climate Initiative meets science-based cuts in carbon; that pollution permits are auctioned to create revenue for public benefit; and that a portion of the funding help our fish and wildlife weather the impacts we can no longer avoid.”

A growing chorus of leaders across the political and economic spectrum says more aggressive action is needed at the national level. Supporters say the Lieberman-Warner bill, “America’s Climate Security Act” (S. 2191), is the strongest global warming bill moving in Congress. The bipartisan bill is the first climate legislation ever to be passed out of a Senate committee. The full senate is expected to vote on the bill by summer.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

The NRDC-RMCO report, “Warming in the West,” analyzed temperature data from Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. The report is available online at www.nrdc.org/globalWarming/west/contents.asp.

About the Natural Resources Defense Council

The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Beijing. Visit the NRDC at www.nrdc.org.

About the Oregon Environmental Council

The Oregon Environmental Council safeguards what Oregonians love about Oregon – clean air and water, an unpolluted landscape and healthy food produced by local farmers. For 40 years, we’ve been a champion for solutions to protect the health of every Oregonian and the health of the place we call home. Our vision for Oregon includes solving global warming, protecting kids from toxins, cleaning up our rivers, building sustainable economies, and ensuring healthy food and local farms. Find out more at www.oeconline.org.